How to Own Your Own Mind by Napoleon Hill

How to Own Your Own Mind Reviews

• 
  Pallavi Sen

  This is one of the most important book which actually helps us to understand the way we should process our mind...
  This book consists of three main chapters:
  1. Creative vision
  2.Organised thoughts
  3.Controlled Attention
  It explains the difference between imagination and creative vision and how our mind become desperate to find solutions of problems if we are persistent. Andrew Carnegie quoted "Creative imagination is the workshop of soul."
  Andrew Carnegie also gives 10 principles through which we can achieve our definite purpose.
  Organised thoughts are important to achieve the major purpose. He explains that Controlled habits are the basis of organised thinking. Andrew Carnegie explains organized thoughts by three charts which make us understand that how we need to organize our mind to find the solution.
  Lastly in controlled attention explains how can we combine all the faculties of mind and concentrate upon attaining the definate purpose.
  In this book there are numerous examples which helps us to understand how people followed a simple methods and invented as well as discovered huge things...
  How a simple imagination can be turned into huge success.
  This book is worth reading and it is really helpful.
  I would highly recommend to read this book.
• 
  Geoff

  My Recommendation: If you're interested in the history of American industrialism or the self-help genre this is definitely a must read, if you're not interested in those specifics, only look at the pages with lists on them because they are sound and you don't get bogged down in the writing and the weirdly formal call and response interviews between Hill and Carnegie. As a final note, I want to reiterate that I feel like more could be done by the publisher or the foundation to better place this in a historical context. Green does a decent job in the introduction, but I feel like it's glossed over and an analysis at the end of the book would be super beneficial.
  
  My Response: Starting this book felt like I opened a door mid-conversation almost a century ago. Behind it were two gentleman sitting in a preserved gentleman's lounge or office. I could almost smell the old leather furniture and the faint scent of cigars and I could see the wood paneling vividly as the two men leaned in to confer about titans of industry. And this is the problem with The Mental Dynamite series.
  
  When I got my copy from the publisher*, I wasn't sure I was going to read it. After the first book, 
  The Path to Personal Power, and my not great reaction to it, I wasn't sure I wanted to trudge through the racist, misogynist, heterosexist past. It's not like they went out of their way to be these things and I'm not excusing them, but it's rough to read.
  
  
  Click here to continue reading on my blog The Oddness of Moving Things.
  
  *I received a copy of How to Own Your Own Mind from the publisher in return for my honest opinion. No goods or cash were received.
• 
  Dide

  Certainly one of the best inspirational books I have read so far. Message albeit repeated lots of times are certainly true and sound. Whilst the American way was preached in ways I personally do not agree with, I believe there was also a motive for such preaching by these men (Carnegie & Napoleon).
  But asides my deciphering these motives as well as the repetitions of the lessons/messages, this is no doubt a great book!
  And by the way messages were very Ayn Rand and I see where she gets her ideas from.
• 
  Eli

  Fake conversations written by a scammer, pedaling an early version of think rich mentality all our modern scammers are. It’s a shame people actually look up to this guy.. he went around stealing and getting girls pregnant left and right, cheating on his wives, getting married five times. No thanks, I’ll take my advice from someone else.
• 
  Chris Esposo

  All of the charlatans and self-help gurus from Jordan Peterson to Tony Robbins are just a reflection of Napoleon Hill, which is sad because Hill isn't all that profound. The short of it is that to succeed in the enterprise, one must focus entirely on that enterprise. So I this way, it is the exact opposite of the advice one would get about intelligent investing in securities, that is not to put all eggs in one basket. Basically be John Wick for whatever you do.
  
  The book is broken down between interviews with Andrew Carnegie, where Hill is embarrassingly obsequious, or perhaps the conversation was highly stylized. Basically, Hill diffidently asks a question about business success to Carnegie, then Carnegie explains the principle, and Hill reiterates the principle, and Carnegie affirms the correctness of Hills restatement.
  
  Other recommendations to build success includes constructing your mastermind, another concept brazenly yoinked self-help gurus of today. Basically choosing your associates wisely and those with similar trajectories as you. Some of the other recommendations get comically evangelical, like the power of prayer, the strength of belief, and destiny etc. Though the connection between evangelicalism and self-help success gurus is not an unknown one. One can also see shades of Trump's worldview from these writings, as he attended a "church" in NYC in his youth that was basically Napoleon Hill + pews.
  
  There's some value here, maybe an hours worth as the business case studies are too one-sided and old (Edison electric, radio companies) to be anything more than interesting trivia. Conditional recommend if you have nothing else to read
• 
  Honoree

  Everyone should read this book (along with LAW OF SUCCESS) and study it over and over.
• 
  Paul Sating

  Ugh. Outdated &, honestly unhelpful and reflective of a society left in the past.
• 
  Andrew

  First things first. This book is not for everyone. It is written by a rich white man based on supposed interviews with another rich white man and includes lots and lots of references to other rich white men. If privileged white men give you heartburn that you cannot get past, then do not bother. This is very much of privilege and patriarchy.


  
  On a second (more personal note) the author uses the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (From here on out referred to as LDS). I am not of the LDS church but have been lucky enough to have met many who are going all the way back to my childhood. Most have been very good people, and some have become very dear to me. I do not know what the author has written will be offensive to them (it is not intended to be) but I hope not.


  
  In order to understand “How to Own Your Own Mind” it is important to grasp that it is a religious text. I do not mean that it is intended to draw people away from their own religious values, but rather is a religious overlay to put on whatever values one has. By “religious” I mean that it asks one to accept things based on faith, rather than proof, that it has mystic elements, and that it is a prescription for organizing one's life.
  
  It has a god figure (Carnegie) a prophet who interprets the god’s teachings (Hill) and even a stand-in for the holy spirit (the Infinite Intelligence). 

Like other religious texts, it has much that is useful for the person who wishes to more effectively govern themselves and their own lives. It gives sound guidance on how to organize one’s effort and achieve one’s goals. Also like any religious text, it has no place in the governing of a free society. When one reads from the book and thinks “this is something that I should apply to my own life” that is a good thing. When someone reads something and thinks “this is something that others should be required to apply to their lives,” it is not. In particular, if one finds oneself thinking “that is what poor (or other groups) folks ought to do,” they are on a very bad path.
  
  

If the interviews that the book is purportedly based on ever happened, (and I have no reason to suspect they did not) I find it unimaginable that the transcripts in the book are accurate. Simply put no one thinks or talks that way (in complete sentences, paragraphs and short chapters.) I am not sure that it is important for us to believe that they did. It is much better to think of this the way one thinks of the writings of Plato, or The Art of War. Rather than being seen as an authentic literal report of what someone said, they are amalgamations intended to reflect the general philosophy of the source, and may well include the author's bias.


  
  If we see the book in the light of what I have said above, it can be digested most effectively and the maximum benefit can be derived. A reader who is looking for a framework to become a more dynamic and effective actor in the world will find it in the book's description of how to organize one's thoughts, and particularly in the emphasis on taking thoughtful action without unneeded delay. For the reader trying to find ways to overcome roadblocks on the path of their lives, reading, understanding, and practicing the ideas and techniques in this book will be immensely helpful. It hammers home one point that I have always believed. While our system makes wealth much harder to attain for some than others, within the context of where a person starts, the key to making wealth is to seek it above all else. It is worth noting, however, that the author considers the pursuit of wealth for its own sake to not be a worthwhile endeavor.


  
  I think that Chapter Two on organized thinking is particularly helpful. While the structure it provides is a subjective creation and more based on one person’s views than any science, if used carefully and studied until understood, it seems to me it would be quite effective.

  
  An odd digression on prayer in chapter three is a bit jarring but has some merit as long as it is not taken as an endorsement of any one type of prayer over others. (to the author's credit he makes this point himself.) While I have no idea if Hill spent any time investigating eastern belief systems, I cannot help but note that many of the techniques he espouses for organizing the mind, fit quite well into a book on Buddhism that I recently read.


  
  I guess to put it all in a few short sentences. This work has a lot of problems that the reader will need to either overcome or be able to ignore. If misused it could justify a very self-centered approach to life and the world. All that being said, if a reader has the time to dedicate to it, it contains ideas and information that may be generally useful.

• 
  Mal

  It’s very interesting from a historical perspective, but this book is very aggressive American capitalism propaganda (just as a warning)
• 
  Maha

  Owning your distinct mind is perhaps the most difficult strength to acquire but the mightiest of them all.
  
  Questioning everything as a curious child is as needed as it was at the elementary level, true humility is to remain grounded even if you have climbed the tallest ladder. Being a great listener puts you even more in charge of your pattern.
  Power of will, faculty of reason, and faculty of conscience are a triad. Thoughts are processed to their finest if transitioned through all of them. Never a person have been more powerful if they have realized the collective of all their sensory experiences - audible books for example are a game-changer for those who are slow readers, you can still obtain information and fast forward too to your liking.
  
  Thoughts can be captives of fear, that's how we come across liberation of ideas if geographical displacements occur - personality shifts come about especially if environments are conducive. "Birds of a feather flock together" has never been more apt. If you wish to interpret information step ahead or step back to allow your subjective experience to funnel through. Dissociate from your regular peers and diversify the pool of brainstorming.
  
  A "potential thinker" is usually shunned for an apparent reason, he just won't fit in. Social heredity is a design to enslave or worse, ostracize.
  
  Not to offend but the book is on point with constrained schooling arrangements, newspaper information and media propagated schemes - imagine a generation liberated from these sources and thinking for themselves.
  
  Even while reflecting on religious convictions, a carefully thought out design has not been formulated because the pass down of information and assurance of its authenticity is engraved in our communities, no one questions who, how, why, or what in these sensitive areas to not disturb status quo.
  
  The emotional quotient has been extremely underrated, its application in the current time is far more productive than the intelligence quotient. EQ qualifies a person for group-based thinking and IQ only caters to personal achievement, if it hasn't been stressed enough that united we stand divided we go so far. The strength of future leaders lies in high EQs.
  
  Personal association is the foundation stone for the transfer of valuable information, if you can't attain it from someone and can't contribute as a return (two-way street) you are partaking in a "standstill". Personality, attitude, and philosophy all can be passed on.
  The success that blindfolds a person to his source of inspiration, is a fluke. One must not lose sight of the energy drive or spiritual compass for continued success.
  
  The biggest takeout is that we are masters of our fate, having said it the book is a constructive uplift for anyone who has been made to feel average by the standards set by egoistic minds that don't allow thinking out of the box. It also connects and makes an assembly out of the miraculousness of every individual human mind and it's distinguished place in the grand scheme of events - how can you make a difference when sorting a jigsaw puzzle. How can you decipher happenings with the power of your mind and how do you wish to not lose your individuality in the process of comparison. Basically, what can YOU do for the world 🌎 if every mind was engineered to be the "leader" of their own life.
• 
  Matt Cannon

  This was an excellent book. Where Napoleon Hill is interviewing Andrew Carnegie. The main premise/takeaway is that controlled attention is one of the major keys for success. For example Carnegie was absolutely focused when he created the Saturday Evening Post and that led to a successful newspaper. Leading up to creation there was many reasons to quit and it was only his focused attention that made it happen. He goes on to explain how the definiteness of purpose and controlled, singular attention on a goal often leads to success. He argues that we are not designed to focus on more than one thing at a time. Narrow your focus and attention. on one individual thing and watch your success grow. The big point of the book is that the mind is the most powerful thing, yet so few use it properly. To put it in perspective, even if you are restrained in prison, you can have control over what you think. Carnegie talked about how using your synthetic imagination and creativity helps reinvent industries with no new inventions. He mentioned beds on trains, refrigerators on delivery trucks to name a few. He talked about how an insurance salesman made a sale of a policy to a shrewd lawyer who didn’t get a policy despite several attempts by other capable salesmen. He set up a newspaper add which he showed him and appealed to his desire of the story being published. He got the sale quickly, although it took him hours to set up. The American govt and system promotes people to pursue their definite purpose with the goal of reaching their full potential for opportunity. Take away that system, or drastically alter it and it could be disastrous. One of the most important principles and things to focus on for success is to become a person that people know and trust to do business with. The interpersonal nature of success cannot be ignored. Being on good terms with people and being able to communicate well with people is key. - I was reminded of how men of creative vision should be encouraged. The interview with Carnegie was early 1900’s where he foretold how and when the ideas would likely gain an audience. It was very accurate as the information became more relevant in the 20’s during the Great Depression. He explained simple truths that still ring correct today over 100 years later. - Creative vision is the key to all industries. Taking time in your own mind to explore what you want to do and how to do it is key. Carnegie explained the story of a life insurance salesman who found one significant person to sell life insurance to, instead of doing lots of work work little policies. The man ended up selling the largest life insurance policy of himself and his peers and it was easy. Some of the explanations in the book remind me of Principle of Least Time and The Principle of Least Action where you find an effective way to get stuff done efficiently. - The definiteness of purpose is powerful. Once you truly make up your mind on achieving something it will happen. He talked about Thomas A. Edison and how he started out determined to make a hearing aid for his wife which eventually became the telephone. He talked about Abraham Lincoln and how he had an indomitable will. He described his mind the following way: “I am slow to learn and slow to forget that which I have learned. My mind is like a piece of steel, very hard to scratch any thing on it and almost impossible after you get it there to rub it out.” I thought of this like a CyberTruck of thought. The book covered the importance and power of prayer, but said you don’t need words. It’s not about what you say, but the tapping into the power of infinite intelligence. He had some good visual explanations of ideas such as "The power with which we think is “mental dynamite,” and it can be organized and used constructively for the attainment of definite ends. If it is not organized and used through controlled habits, it may become a “mental explosive” that will literally blast one’s hopes of achievement and lead to inevitable failure." "Yes, and I might add that the wise man never wastes his time with anyone from whom he cannot acquire benefits or to whom he cannot contribute something worthwhile in one form or another." "Every word a man speaks, every word spoken in his presence, every thought a man thinks, modifies his thinking habits in one way or another.""YOU MAY have everything you desire if you desire it badly enough to inspire you to keep your mind fixed on its attainment." Creative Imagination has its source, as far as science has been able to determine, in the subconscious mind, wherein exists, through some power unknown to science, the ability to perceive and interpret new ideas."Here enters one of the more important of the principles of individual achievement, the principle of Going the Extra Mile. I have never heard of anyone changing from poverty to riches without applying this principle, and doing it as a matter of habit."
  "Place all your eggs in one basket: then watch the basket closely to see that no one kicks it over.” By that he meant, of course, to concentrate all of one’s attention upon a single Definite Major Purpose."
  “Creative Vision,” as we are here using it, by explaining that this is not merely another name for imagination. It is the ability to recognize opportunities and take action to benefit from them."
  Talking about Henry Ford he said "Mr. Ford was motivated by a definite purpose which is the first step in all individual achievements. He stimulated his purpose into an obsession, concentrating his thoughts upon it. He converted his purpose into definite plans through the principle of organized individual endeavor and put his plans into action with unabated persistence. He made use of the mastermind principle, first by the council of his wife, second by talking with others who had experimented with the internal combustion engine and later when dealing with manufacturing and sales he allied with the Dodge brothers to learn from them. Back of all this effort was the power of applied faith acquired with his intense desire for achievement in connection with his definite, major purpose. Summarized briefly, Mr Fords success was due to adopting a definite, major purpose, which he fanned into a white heat flame of obsession, this leading to the stimulation of both the faculties of synthetic imagination and creative imagination. The part of the story that should be emphasized is the Mr. Ford moved with persistence. He met with one form of defeat or another all which required to be met with persistence and determination. He owes his success to knowing exactly what he wants and the capacity to stand by what he wants with unrelenting persistence. If one single quality stands out in Ford, it’s his quality of persistence. Definiteness of purpose, backed by a persistence is the greatest of all stimulants for both the creative and synthetic imagination. Motive is the beginning of all desires. This is an excellent book that I learned a great deal from. You can't go wrong reading classics like this and any Napoleon Hill work you read will make you better.
  
• 
  Carolyn

  I made out about halfway through but it just wasn't doing it for me. I am a fan of Napoleon Hill's timeless wisdom, but the delivery is just too old-timey – to the point of distraction. Surely the concepts here can be converted to a more modern vernacular that freshens it all up.
• 
  Dilini

  “Great minds have purpose, others have wishes.” - Washington Irving [a quote from the book].
  
  The book in essence provides the reader with a means to unlock the potential of their mind. I'm not saying this is the only way, but this is a proven way. I've read books from people who've already made it about how they made it. Almost all of those stories are examples of this method.
  
  The 3 basic principles of owning your own mind are creative vision, organized thought, and controlled vision. The author goes through each of these principles and he goes deeper in explaining these.
  
  A brief explanation of the 3 principles as I understood:
  1/ Creative vision - It’s basically our imagination. Imagination however has to be applied in order to get results, so one must find opportunities. Continuous imagination is also important.
  2/ Organized thought - It’s mainly a product of inductive & deductive reasoning and genetic traits. Everyone has good and bad habits. Identifying and categorizing these habits can go a long way. Bad habits can keep someone from fulfilling their purpose. Organized thought also helps unlock the subconscious through will power and the power of emotions.
  He also mentions that quitting is a result of disorganized thinking. Quitting in hard times or just because of the influence of other negative minds is because of disorganized thinking. Accurate thinking and the faculty of reasoning is helpful for organized thinking.
  3/ Controlled attention - This is the most important of all and is essential to the implementation of creative vision and organized thought. It is concentration and beyond. It is how an idea can be planned or impressed in the subconscious mind. Controlled attention is the "process of controlling all the activity of the mind and it directs you to a given end". The book provides 12 guiding principles for reaching this level of deep focus. Moreover, one must take full control of all the faculties of their mind if they want to fulfill their purpose.
  
  The author talks about the importance of staying away from negative minds. Staying away from negative people can be seen as being selfish in other people’s eyes, but this is justifiable selfishness. In my opinion, this is also justifiable in the eyes of the theory of evolution. Because when it comes down to survival, your tribe will fight with you. According to the author, staying away from negativity provides food for the mind. Thinking is affected by other minds around you and your mind becomes affected by the people you associate with. When the time comes, it is critical that you find other masterminds that can support your purpose. So, social intercourse should be a conscious act that serves your purpose. He also stresses the importance of going the extra mile throughout the book. Action filters successful creative minds from the rest.
  
  As a curious earthling, I read about the subconscious mind as it is still a mystery to me. This book was able to give me the WHY and the HOW to a certain extent. Subconscious is the link between infinite intelligence and the conscious mind.
  
  Additionally, in a conversation between Hill & Carnegie, they talk about the significance of having 'motive'. To quote Carnegie, “a man without an obsessional motive is a man without power, or when he comes to power he’ll not be able to hold it”. 'Motive' is essential in fueling 'purpose'.
  
  He also talks about spirituality and perseverance. Spiritual bankruptcy can keep your mind away from achieving purpose. Moreover, Hill & Carnegie can't stress enough the importance of choosing your significant other (remember how negative minds and positive minds can affect your mind?). Quoting from the book, "love is the spiritual harmony between two people and it is the highest form of social intercourse". According to them, although your SO can't be in meetings or in discussions relating to your business, SO can definitely give ideas, bring positivity and guide you to your purpose, but only if your SO is positive minded.
  
  IMO humans are advanced and complex machines that can program themselves in accordance with the facts and information available to them. The genetic code also has a role to play here. However, as the author points out we need to take control of programming ourselves. Just because it is a fact doesn't mean it's a true quality fact. Our mind can self-program and deep learn, but there is a clear difference when inaccurate data is fed vs accurate data is fed. The same goes for children.
  
  Highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking to unlock the means to take control of their own mind. It'll be a great guide, but only a guide. The rest is up to you and your mind. Definitely give it a try!
  
  4/5 stars because certain portions are out of date according to today's standards, which can easily be fixed by the publisher.
• 
  Michael Dewey

  While it was interesting to read about some of the history of American industrialism, this book did not provide much in the way of insights on how to actually own your own mind. It wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
  
  That said, some points were pertinent, if not common sense: focus brings results, do hard things without fear, be determined to the point of obsession, etc. I mean, fairly basic principles, but at face value…these aren’t recipes for success alone, nor keys to actually “owning your own mind”. This was more about using your mind to accomplish goals. There is a difference. How do we develop such razor focus? It wasn’t really expounded upon beyond “just be obsessed”.
  
  I give it two stars for being historically interesting (if it could be verified as authentic), but it really falls apart for me in a few key ways:
  
  - It is misogynistic, dated, and insensitive material…a product of its time- yes, but still…ugh.
  
  - The interviews with Carnegie and others were most certainly made up or paraphrased at a minimum. They were totally unconvincing, to the point that it distracted from the material with how self-serving it was. Nobody talks like this. Secular reading on Hill reveals that it is highly contested as to whether he ever even met or spoke to these people he claims to be interviewing. Hill was likely a con man.
  
  - More than once, it devolves into a blatant propaganda machine for capitalism (which don’t get me wrong, I’m all for ethical capitalism and personal exceptionalism…but it got old quick), and whole sections of the book are devoted to ranting against “something for nothing” types, and socialism. This is book is basically crack for Boomers. It was hard to stomach in many areas.
  
  - Some of this was downright kooky pseudoscience, and there was a LOT of emphasis on prayer.
  
  This book is an interesting read. That’s about it. I don’t think I could ever recommend it as anything more than mindless reading, which is ironic, given the subject matter.
• 
  Bryan

  The material is dated yet there is a timelessness to the truths laid out in the message and instructions within. For example, the discussion does not warrant working hard to become a doctor, lawyer, or CEO because those positions were largely impacted back then just as they are now. Therefore, working hard within those positions or any position is not a guarantee to the individual that they will be able to find a job or be successful. Hence the argument for creative vision, to go outside of the scope of what is offered in the external environment and dedicate yourself to it. Unfortunately, artistic people with creative vision are largely at the whim of being chosen by another thereby limiting their success. The message of this book will not do much to help artists and my opinion is that the message is more directed towards sales people and administrators. Even so, I work in an environment where everybody in the office stays late and arrives early and still nobody ever gets promoted. The opportunity for advancement does not exist and will not present itself in the same fashion today as it did in the days of Carnegie.
• 
  N

  4/9/2021 Actually very interesting. I think some stories and facts were embellished, which is the trend of business books these days, too, with made up conversations and nameless examples of clients, but overall it had some sound principles, despite a lack of some psychological or scientific knowledge at the time. Build good habits, have positive thoughts, maintain a purpose, and work for it. Of course, there are more detailed steps in the book, but overall, that's what I gleaned from it.
  What I ultimately liked about it was that it said what 90% of the business and self-help books of today are saying, it just said it so many years ago, so he either set a trend for how to make a bunch of money from writing books about a formulaic positive thought process, or it works. My guess is that it's a bit of both. You won't get rich by being lucky, and you don't get rich just by working hard, but if you can come up with a good idea and pursue it with positive thought and work, you can make something of it.
• 
  Robert Gebhardt

  So here's a sentence:
  
  "It is generally conceded that no group of people, throughout the pioneering days of this country, from the early pilgrim settlers on down to the present, were harassed and persecuted as severely as were the Mormons. "
  
  Regardless, there were a few gems, but otherwise you sort of get the impression he was commissioned by Carnegie to "interview" him for business and life advice.
  
  The book mentions having an all-driving purpose, being persistent, taking action, and having absolute faith you'll succeed. I wouldn't call it by any means rigorous or scientific, but probably not bad advice. To be fair, even nowadays you hear similar proclamations without accounting for things like survivorship bias (plenty of people follow all that advice and end up failing, yet they are never interviewed). However, that doesn't necessarily make it more excusable. Just keep it in mind.
  
  
• 
  C.A. Gray

  This was incredible. It was like being mentored by Andrew Carnegie (whom Napoleon Hill interviewed for his tips for success). Hill's contention (via Carnegie) is that intense focus upon a subject connects our mind with the Infinite Mind (or God, or the divine -- variously called throughout the book), and emotion is a fuel that keeps us focused with single-minded determination upon that subject. Particularly if we combine that focus with a mastermind group of like-minded people (Prov 20:18, 24:6), nothing will be impossible for us (Genesis 11:6).
  
  The story went through various titans of business, magnates, inventors, etc, and how they applied this principle to achieve their ends. As I read, I kept thinking of the proverb, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. But the glory of kings is to search out a matter" (Prov 25:2).
  
• 
  Shardha Jain

  This book takes the reader to another level of their mind and thoughts. It explains the importance of thoughts before action, as it proves helpful to attain your Definite Major Purpose. It is divided into three parts :
  a) Creative Vision
  b) Organised Thought
  c) Controlled Attention
  
  The conversation between Carnegie and Napoleon Hill meant to change the perspectives of readers towards their imagination and thoughts. Analysis of each chapter adds the beauty to the book. Inspirational quotes are addded in between chapters that are full of wisdom. Charts added are in detail & quite informative. The book tend to direct readers towards Creative Vision, Organised thought and Controlled attention. If you like to read self improvement books, this book has much for you.
  
  Get this book from Rachnaye App.
• 
  Julia Pozsonyi

  Very outdated, honestly I couldn’t get passed the first chapter. I noticed there is very “male-based” language as if this book was written by a man specifically for men. In the first chapter alone I felt like every page had the sentence “and what makes a great man is ____” written on it. That was off-putting for me. I felt the book had a lot of blabber and not enough concrete practices that you can integrate into your life that will help you “own your mind.” Very vague outlines on what you “should do” are given and I felt they didn’t even really make sense. Also, a very American book. It talks a lot about America, Americas government and industrialization. Definitely not the book for me and the interviews laid out came across as fake to me.
• 
  Gabriel Dibble

  How to Own Your Own Mind is a great and important follow-up to Think and Grow Rich by N.Hill, which if you enjoyed the latter, then you will realize that it was merely the tip of the iceberg.
  Chapter 2 of How to Own Your Own Mind, in my opinion, is essential wisdom in Self-actualization.
  
  While some context in the book is dated, the content is absolutely enlightening and still relevant.
  This is a book you will need to reread at least a few times, while reflecting over the content and then renewing the information and repeating. Do put some time into allowing this esoteric and high-level knowledge reflect upon you.
  
  I recommend this book.
• 
  Cassandra

  I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book. There was some golden nuggets in here and defiantly got my mind moving and engaged. However, everything was one rich old white guy talking to another old rich white guy and it was exhausting to read through. I had to cringe through a lot of it just to get to the parts that resonated with me. I understand this was written well before my time but it still was painful to read at times. I also didn't enjoy how the book was formatted. The conversation between to the two individuals did not flow and made it hard to find any momentum with the book.
  
  I am not mad that I finished the book, but I am not sure I would recommend this one either.
• 
  Mehul Sheth

  Self-contradictory and thin on substance. Carnegie and Hill trump up positive thinking with false structure and capitalized words. The stories have a thin shell that, when broken, expose reliance on ‘the right attitude’. A perfect example is the National Cash Register story and Hugh Chalmers. Sales were slow, Charlmers called in all his sales rep from the field and rebuked their negative feedback by forcing them to say ‘what is right in their territory.’ They did and went back to their regions and sales were good.
  
  There’s also plenty of ‘the youth are lazy’ and ‘big government is bad’ with a heap of ‘work really hard without expecting direct compensation’.
• 
  Robert Koyich

  I put this book as a five-star rating due to the value and potential influence reading it can have on people. Napoleon's writing and point of view are from a couple of decades ago, though the information, recommendations, and ideas are pertinent, relevant, and crisply explained. The lessons are easily soaked in on the first read, though the second read fuses the wisdom even more. I hadn't posted this review until a couple of months after reading the book, and now think to revisit the work again in the future for additional gleaning.
• 
  Анастасия

  Отличная книга и множество мудрых мыслей.
  Эти мысли уже не раз пережеваны множеством корчей и современных книг по саморазвитию, но до первоисточника я добралась только вот.
  Книга больше подходит на формат интервью с Карнеги, плюс мысли самого автора, но мне очень «зашло».
  
  Основные идеи: нужно выбрать цель и направить все своё внимание к ней, тогда придёт и успех, и счастье, и финансовое благополучие.
  
  В примеры приводится Форд (он как пример в разных амплуа приводится в очень многих книгах), Элисон, Белл и другие гениальные умы начала XX века.
  
  Очень вдохновляющее произведение!
• 
  Timothy James Goodkey

  This is one of the best books I have ever read and it definitely changed my life. My impression is understanding controlling your mind, your thoughts and your energy is the greatest gift and power we have as humans. We choose what to direct our mental thoughts and energy towards and thus control our own destiny.
  
  I’ve always believed in the benefits of having a positive disposition but this book takes it to another level. I plan on ordering a very nice hardcopy of this book and keeping it as a reference for the rest of my life. Likely going to read it once a year.